partickthedog

You do amazingly well to capture all that you do!

You would have been brilliantly placed to appreciate the opening goal by Kerr McInroy. In fact you might have been tempted to vault the barrier and join in with the goal celebrations.

I was asking myself the same question. Could it have been to minimise direct confrontation with Thistle fans in the John Lambie Stand?? But of course it brought the Morton fans closer to the Thistle dug-out, which had other consequences.

I realised that we were in for a bad day early on when the referee overruled his linesman (who had a perfect view from close by) and awarded a goal kick rather than a corner. The referee from far away with his vision obscured by Stevie Lawless and a Morton defender of course knew best. The linesman might as well have gone home at that point.

I am wondering if there is some past history between Brian Graham and Morton which pre-dates his time at Thistle. I have not noticed any particular issues involving Brian as we have played Morton over the past couple of seasons. However, at the latest game at Cappielow a couple of months back I was surprised at the level of animosity personally directed at Graham (but at no other individual Thistle player) for no apparent reason. That was what made we think that the roots of this must lie deeper.

Credit to Alston. That was some finish. He also got himself into some other scoring positions and it is really the first time we have seen properly what he is about. Came across well in JagZone interview too. If he now begins to contribute positively and with Williams putting in a shift wherever he is placed, the squad depth is perhaps looking more encouraging than it was before.

From the John Lambie Stand could not see how good that finish by Alston was. Great to see it now.

No doubt lots to criticise but a cracking old fashioned game with lots of atmosphere. With a few key players missing for various reasons, the 11 left at the end did dig it out. Commendation to Aero for telescopic leg reaching all sorts of crosses. Some sublime skills from Williams. However the highlight has to be Fitzpatrick’s rabona. When Graham was sent off I was concerned that there might be a rule requiring us to withdraw one of the players on the pitch!

Alston for McInroy???

That must be the 2nd McInroy shot which the keeper beat away. Fitzpatrick, Lawless, Graham and McMillan have all had clear sights of goal but horribly butchered the finishes. Hard to be critical as they have all played well. Hopefully they can be more clinical second half.

Seems a long time ago but the goal was superbly crafted by Lawless and finished by McInroy. Delightful simplicity. We have had lots of rather more complicated moves that have almost come off. Maybe something simple will do the trick again.

Should certainly have scored more when we were on top. Still feel that we should win if we can put all the jigsaw pieces together.

Pity to lose Milne (not sure what problem was) but good to see signs that the Lawless/McMillan combination play down the right is returning.

Here goes with the women’s third round. Hoping for some seismic shocks. AHHA AHHA HHHH AAHH

Thank you! Good to see Namibia nestling at Number 23.

To be fair to the excellent Archive, having hijacked their thread, here is a link to their report on the game on 4th September 1999 with Quinton's debut getting a mention. http://www.thethistlearchive.net/match-1999-09-04. Always enjoyed going to Stair Park when kids were young, as they could enjoy the play park until 5 minutes before kick off!

Not sure where to post this, but here seems best as it shows the importance of remembering your Thistle history. I rarely get a question correct on University Challenge, and even more rarely do I get one right that neither team is able to answer correctly. The challenge tonight was to identify a flag with a green triangle in the bottom right corner, a blue triangle in the top left corner, a diagonal red band across the middle and above it a bright yellow sun. I remembered an article by Rab Christie in the Herald on Quinton Jacobs' debut at Stranraer in 1999, describing his national flag (which was much in evidence) as being a statement about Thistle, "a thrilling burst of red and yellow in a field of predominantly green and blue". The answer of course was "Namibia". Got it instantly!

Agree with all comments above regarding excellent performance and atmosphere. The first and third goals both came at the end of impressive team moves. Our goalkeeper was not really tested, but looked supremely competent in all her handling and distribution by feet. Although the team is totally committed to winning, the whole mood surrounding the game and in the crowd is so much more relaxed. Hamilton fans were happily accommodated in the same part of the stadium. It is a really good way to introduce children to the fun of football at Firhill. My 2 year old grand-daughter loved it and even staged a pitch invasion after the final whistle. Good thing that there were no police in sight, as of course they were completely unnecessary.

HHAA HHHA AAAH AHAH HHHH Looking to Bo'ness United at Morton and Cowdenbeath at Inverness to deliver the points for the underdogs!

Good to see us back playing some slick front foot football even on not the easiest surface. Not perfect but so much better than previous games. Some clever moves with inventive passes and runs. One of these produced the goal and there could have been a couple more. Fitzpatrick’s return makes a big difference. McInroy and Lawless showing up well and Williams displaying some nifty footwork. However, I predict a tough second half. Arbroath never out of it. A second goal for us would help!

If we are a few players short, I would like to see James Lyon make an appearance. He has not let us down yet, and I always feel that there is much more chance of him scoring as compared to many of our midfielders (the only exception perhaps being McInroy).

Who is fit to play? KD says Ngwenya, Fitzpatrick and McMillan unavailable (though latter two back in training) but is Milne fit? McKenzie at RB again I suppose. At least Aero will be back to stiffen the back line. If Milne isn't fit we might have to play Williams at RB and McKenzie at LB. Hope to all the gods Milne makes it. The above was actually Mr Bunny's post in the Scottish Cup draw thread, but as it went down the wrong burrow I have re-posted it here. In answer to Mr B's point about what we do if Milne is not fit and McKenzie has to be re-assigned to LB, then I would prefer to see Aero at RB with Williams at centre back. Williams was uncomfortable at RB v Raith Rovers and apart from 10 minutes of shakiness was OK v Queens Park at centre back and hopefully has developed some understanding with Neilson. Aero is a competent RB and could perhaps unleash some long throws as well! Having said all that, I hope Milne makes it. His injury on Friday did not look too serious.

I must have missed the change to the rules. I thought that by finishing 4th in the Championship last year, we were effectively the 16th best team in Scotland and went straight into the draw for the final 32 in January! No doubt somebody will tell me that this rule was changed 5 years ago! What a dull draw this is when we had the potential to play lots of different teams for the first time.

I did post earlier about Williams in this thread and it occurred to me to come back and complete my comments, but you have kindly done it for me! Sound for 55 minutes. Was at fault for the penalty, but with mitigation as you have said, and had a very shakey 10 minutes thereafter. However he then buckled down and saw out the rest of the game very competently.

Will give the team some credit for the lightning quick move to grab the equaliser seconds after losing 2 goals at the other end. That showed a bit of character. Rather surprised that no one has commented on the referee over-ruling the linesman's offside flag to award their second goal. What made the referee such a multi-visioned expert all of a sudden? What is the point of having a linesman at all? He might as well have gone home.